Somewhere along the line in the past two or three years, in-canal earphonesnot those ill-fitting earbuds that come with most MP3 playersturned a corner. Whereas previously, only higher-end, pricier earphones could reproduce deep low frequencies, the Radius Atomic Bass ($39.99, ) proved you could get big bass on the cheap. At $79.95 (direct) Yamaha's EPH-50, may not be as affordable, but it's a good-sounding pair that fits very securely, and it's definitely a step up from budget earphones like the Radius Atomic Bass.

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Design and Features
Offered in white with gold accents, or black with silver accents, the EPH-50 features an offset eartip, which means a secure fit. Not unlike the fit on the Bose In-Ear Headphones ($99, ), the EPH-50's eartip (the part that enters your ear canal) justs out to the side. The plastic earpiece it protrudes from rests against the back, lower wall inside your ear, helping to stabilize the fit. Creating a strong seal at the canal is key to getting more low-end frequency response. A pleasant side effect of this strong seal is some passive ambient noise reduction, making the EPH-50 a good choice for use on airplanes, trains, and other noisy places.

Another interesting aspect of the otherwise nondescript design: a small, hollow plastic cylinder on the 48-inch cable. It is an adjustable cable holderthe ends of the cylinder are open so you can plug the 3.5mm connector into the holder after sliding the plastic piece all the way to the top of the earphones, near the earpieces. I applaud Yamaha on attempting to cut back on tangled, damaged cables, since this is the reason earphones die so quickly. But the holder doesn't quite work. It's true that, by plugging the end of the cable into the holder, you create a loop, which is less likely to get in knots. Tangles still occur, however, and they force the wires inside the cable into unnatural positions that will eventually turn into damage points. The proper way to store a cable is in several loose loops, uniform in size, which is difficult to do with the EPH-50's cable holder.

Audio Performance
Our HEAD Acoustics frequency response test shows that despite the secure fit of the EPH-50, variances mean an unmatched frequency response from ear to ear. While I wouldn't call the results disastrous, it's worth noting that the pair could be better matched in the low frequencies than it is.

The graphs also show us that the response is similar to that of the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour ($149.95, ). Both pairs are heavy on the low end, with the EPH-50 offering slightly less bass than the Beats, but the mid frequencies have near-identical responses. The pairs don't sound identical, for sure, but they are close enough that if you are a bass fiend looking into the Beats, it's worth considering the EPH-50 if you want to save almost 50 percent.

My own listening experience supports the deep bass response we see in the graphs. At maximum level, I noticed no distortion on super-deep bass tracks, like The Knife's "Silent Shout" and Thom Yorke's "Cymbal Rush." If you listen to electronic music and hip hop, the EPH-50 helps those booming bass parts stand out, if that's what you're looking for. If your tastes veer more towards the classical side of things, or more organic, instrumental music, the EPH-50 probably isn't for you. Simply put: the bass response overwhelms other aspects of the music when listening to orchestral pieces like Jonny Greenwood's score for There Will Be Blood. Then again, if you were interested in a flat response pair of earphones, you probably stopped reading long ago.

I love the fit of the Yamaha EPH-50, and bass lovers will likely love its exaggerated low-end response, but for me, it's a bit too much. Even on tracks with deep bass, I prefer a more measured approach. If you are seriously considering buying the Beats Tour earphones, however, you should check this pair out too, since they're much less expensive and they fit better. Whether one super-bass-boosting pair sounds better than the other is going to come down to your personal preference.

Yamaha EPH-50

Yamaha EPH-50

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